Ron Paul Isn't That Scary

Whatever shortcomings Paul and his friends might have, Paul's dogma
generally renders those shortcomings irrelevant. He is a true ideologue in
that his personal preferences are secondary to his philosophical principles.
When asked what his position is, he generally responds that his position can
be deduced from the text of the Constitution. Of course, that's not as
dispositive as he thinks it is. But you get the point.

As for Huckabee - as with most politicians, alas - his personal preferences
matter enormously because, ultimately, they're the only things that can be
relied on to constrain him.

In this respect, Huckabee's philosophy is conventionally liberal, or
progressive. What he wants government to do certainly differs in important
respects from what Hillary Clinton wants, but the limits he would place on
governmental do-goodery are primarily tactical or practical, not
philosophical or constitutional. This isn't to say he - or Hillary - is a
would-be tyrant, but simply to note that the progressive notion of the state
as a loving, caring parent is becoming a bipartisan affair.

Indeed, Huckabee represents the latest attempt to make conservatism more
popular. Contrary to the conventional belief that Republicans need to drop
their opposition to abortion, gay marriage and the like in order to be
popular, Huckabee understands that the unpopular stuff is the economic
libertarianism: free trade and smaller government. That's why we're seeing a
rise in economic populism on the right married to a culturally conservative
populism. Huckabee is the bastard child of Lou Dobbs and Pat Robertson.

Historically, the conservative movement benefited from the tension between
libertarianism and cultural traditionalism. This tension - and the effort to
reconcile it under the name "fusionism" - has been mischaracterized as a
battle between right-wing factions when it's really a conflict that runs
through the heart of every conservative. We all have little Mike Huckabees
and Ron Pauls sitting on our shoulders. Neither is always right, but both
should be listened to.

I would not vote for Paul mostly because I think his foreign policy would be
disastrous (Also, he'd lose in a rout not seen since Bambi versus Godzilla).
But there's something weird going on when Paul, the small-government
constitutionalist, is considered the extremist in the Republican Party,
while Huckabee, the statist, is the lovable underdog. It's even weirder
because it's probably true: Huckabee is much
closer to the mainstream. And that's what scares me about Huckabee and the
mainstream alike.

Jonah Goldberg is editor-at-large of National Review Online,and the author of the book The Tyranny of Clichés. You can reach him via Twitter @JonahNRO.
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